Monday, September 18, 2017

weforum | The best place from which to draw inspiration for how immersive
technologies may be regulated is the regulatory frameworks being put
into effect for traditional digital technology today. In the European
Union, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force in 2018.
Not only does the law necessitate unambiguous consent for data
collection, it also compels companies to erase individual data on
request, with the threat of a fine of up to 4% of their global annual
turnover for breaches. Furthermore, enshrined in the bill is the notion
of ‘data portability’, which allows consumers to take their data across
platforms – an incentive for an innovative start-up to compete with the
biggest players. We may see similar regulatory norms for immersive
technologies develop as well.

Providing users with sovereignty of personal data

Analysis shows
that the major VR companies already use cookies to store data, while
also collecting information on location, browser and device type and IP
address. Furthermore, communication with other users in VR environments
is being stored and aggregated data is shared with third parties and
used to customize products for marketing purposes.

Concern over these methods of personal data collection has led to
the introduction of temporary solutions that provide a buffer between
individuals and companies. For example, the Electronic Frontier
Foundation’s ‘Privacy Badger’
is a browser extension that automatically blocks hidden third-party
trackers and allows users to customize and control the amount of data
they share with online content providers. A similar solution that
returns control of personal data should be developed for immersive
technologies. At present, only blunt instruments are available to
individuals uncomfortable with data collection but keen to explore
AR/VR: using ‘offline modes’ or using separate profiles for new devices.

Managing consumption

Short-term measures also exist to address overuse in the form of
stopping mechanisms. Pop-up usage warnings once healthy limits are
approached or exceeded are reportedly supported by 71% of young people in the UK. Services like unGlue
allow parents to place filters on content types that their children are
exposed to, as well as time limits on usage across apps.

All of these could be transferred to immersive technologies, and
are complementary fixes to actual regulation, such as South Korea’s Shutdown Law.
This prevents children under the age of 16 from playing computer games
between midnight and 6am. The policy is enforceable because it ties
personal details – including date of birth – to a citizen’s resident
registration number, which is required to create accounts for online
services. These solutions are not infallible: one could easily imagine
an enterprising child might ‘borrow’ an adult’s device after-hours to
find a workaround to the restrictions. Further study is certainly
needed, but we believe that long-term solutions may lie in better
design.

As businesses develop applications using immersive technologies,
they should transition from using metrics that measure just the amount
of user engagement to metrics that also take into account user
satisfaction, fulfilment and enhancement of well-being. Alternative
metrics could include a net promoter score for software, which would
indicate how strongly users – or perhaps even regulators – recommend the
service to their friends based on their level of fulfilment or
satisfaction with a service.

The real challenge, however, is to find measures that align with
business policy and user objectives. As Tristan Harris, Founder of Time
Well Spent argues: “We have to come face-to-face with the current
misalignment so we can start to generate solutions.” There are instances
where improvements to user experience go hand-in-hand with business
opportunities. Subscription-based services are one such example: YouTube
Red will eliminate advertisements for paying users, as does Spotify
Premium. These are examples where users can pay to enjoy
advertising-free experiences and which do not come at the cost to the
content developers since they will receive revenue in the form of paid
subscriptions.

More work remains if immersive technologies are to enable happier,
more fulfilling interactions with content and media. This will largely
depend on designing technology that puts the user at the centre of its
value proposition.

This is part of a series of articles
related to the disruptive effects of several technologies
(virtual/augmented reality, artificial intelligence and blockchain) on
the creative economy.